For Maple Leaf players and coaches, Saturday night means just one thing — playing a hockey game.

But last night, March 2, the Leafs enjoyed a rare respite from that tradition and there was something calming about the experience.

“Well, tonight I’ll be taking my wife and daughter out for dinner and that’s nice to have that opportunity,” coach Randy Carlyle said about the Leafs’ three-day weekend, which included no Saturday night game.

“And it’s not that you don’t get the chance to go out, but Saturday’s are something special that way. When I was playing, Saturday was date night when you weren’t playing. You’d take your wife or your girlfriend out and it was always nice to get the chance to do that.”

Toronto beat the Islanders in overtime Thursday night in Uniondale, N.Y., and for the first time in this abbreviated NHL season found themselves with more than two days off in a row. In February, they played 15 games in 28 days.

But the off-day Saturday didn’t mean there wasn’t work to do.

“With us it wasn’t a (total) day off . . . we did one-on-one meetings with the players. They met with either me or a member of the coaching staff,” Carlyle said.

“We met to give them the chance to voice their opinions on what they think about where things are and for us as coaches to talk about what we think about them and things like that. Historically, we try to have contact with players every six to eight games, and have these one-on-ones.”

Three players — Joffrey Lupul, Matt Frattin and James Reimer — actually took to the ice. The remainder of the roster was put through an off-ice workout.

But what to do with the rest of the day?

Some players still had team functions to attend: several of them signed autographs at a RONA home improvement store Saturday afternoon.

Mark Fraser, who took part in the autograph session, even planned to stick with hockey and take in the Marlies game later in the day.

“Yeah, I’ll go down and check them out, but I’ll stay in the press box,” he said, smiling.

Fraser’s defensive partner Cody Franson, like most players, hoped to “just chill” — dinner with teammates or friends and family, maybe a movie, or watch the Canadiens-Penguins game.

“I want to see the new Iron Man, but I think it doesn’t come out until (mid-April),” Franson said.

“It’s not too often you get to kick your feet up on the couch and watch some other teams go at it,” added forward Nazem Kadri.

For Kadri, the rare Saturday night off also offered the chance to digest his breakout three-goal game against the Islanders. He said he’d received “50 to 60” congratulatory text messages in the aftermath.

“I think having this break makes me want to let it sink in a bit more and maybe enjoy it, but I have to understand it’s just one game and one game doesn’t make a season,” Kadri said.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.